


Put On Your War Paint

by samdeanstilinski



Series: Chronicles of A Fallen Love [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Blood, Criminal AU, Fake AH Crew, GTA AU, Heist AU, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Torture, Violence, also other rt/ah members, and ryan shows up pretty late into the story, but i can't write smut so there won't actually be any sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-18 04:49:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2335910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samdeanstilinski/pseuds/samdeanstilinski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geoff Ramsey ruled over the criminal underworld of Los Santos with his gang, The Fake AH Crew, and if you didn't work for them, you didn't make it out alive. This was common knowledge, yet some idiot by the name of Edgar still thinks it's a good idea to try to invade their territory.</p><p>But as it it turns, Edgar's gang, The Resurrection, are more capable than The Fake AH Crew originally thought, proving to be quite a challenge. And, as the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em... you pay someone who can. </p><p>(A mostly Michael/Gavin centric fic in GTA/Criminal AU.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Michael watched the convenience store from his position on the rooftop. The store on the other side of the road was closing soon, and apart from the cashier behind the counter was empty of life. He looked over at the blond standing outside the store, phone in hand. The man looked up at Michael and winked.

Michael grinned back and spoke into the microphone attached to his collar. 

"You ready to go, Gav?"

"Hell yeah, I'm ready," came the reply through his earpiece. "Born ready."

"Oh, shut the fuck up, you two."

Michael held back his laughter at Geoff's tired voice over the headset.

"You're just jealous because you're stuck in the car with Jack again," he teased. Geoff scoffed at the suggestion.

Michael rolled his eyes and placed his eye against the scope of the sniper rifle. He frowned. The cashier was gone, replaced with a skinny Hispanic man that was greedily grabbing the money from the cash register. Michael's eyes narrowed at the gun on the counter.

"Gavin, wait," Michael warned. "There's someone- I think someone's already robbing the place, like, right now." Gavin paused, hand hovering over the door handle. 

"What the fuck?" Geoff's reply sounded exasperated. "Who the hell is it? Is it someone from Rooster Teeth? I told Matt and Burnie to stay out of-"

"Nah, I'd recognise them if it was one of them," Michael interrupted his boss. "This guy is pretty scrawny, he's got glasses... Gav, you should get out of there before the cops show." Michael saw Gavin nod and step back when Geoff spoke again.

"Wait, we have to see who is in there," he disagreed. "Gavin, head in. Interrogate him or some shit, I don't know." Michael let out a frustrated sound from the back of his throat.

"You can't be serious, Geoff. And if the cops show up?"

"Ahh, they won't show. Besides, Jack and I are only a couple of minutes away, he'll be fine." Michael sighed at his flawed logic.

"Okay, fine, and what if this guy shoots him?" he retorted. Gavin slipped his phone into his pocket and pulled out a gun instead. He raised it in the air for Michael to see, and Michael glared back at him. Gavin smirked.

"Hey, you were the one that said he's pretty scrawny, and apparently not from Rooster Teeth, which basically means he's some random ass nobody that wanted a bit of cash. I wouldn't have hired Gavin if I thought he would get himself killed on a job this easy," came Geoff's reply. Michael shook his head lightly, but didn't argue. He could tell this was a losing battle.

"I'm heading in." Gavin sounded impatient. Michael rolled his eyes and pressed his eye up to the sniper scope again. 

"Hey, I'll just shoot him now, we can identify the body after. Sounds like a plan?"

"Oh, calm down, Michael," Jack butted in. Michael hadn't even known he was wearing a headset. "You can shoot him if he goes to hurt Gavin."  
Michael didn't reply, as the man behind the counter had looked up from his robbery at Gavin's entry. Though Michael was fairly sure Gavin was holding a gun on him, the figure seemed completely at ease. Michael kept his eyes on the gun on the counter the whole time.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Gavin said, his voice sounding through the earpiece. Michael didn't hear the reply from the stranger's end, but Gavin added in an, "I'm Gavin," after he spoke. 

The stranger nodded at him, before dropping to the ground. For a second, Michael thought that Gavin had shot him, but he hadn't heard gunfire. The lights in the store went out and Michael shot at the window, knowing that he wasn't going to hit his target.

His heart leapt into his throat when he heard a gunshot over the earpiece.

"Holy fuck... Gavin? Gavin, you there? Gavin!" Michael shouted into the microphone.

"Gavin, what's going on? Jack's driving us in now, hold on buddy!" Geoff yelled.

Gavin let out a groan. "Shoot the bastard, Michael..." he moaned out. Michael's heart was racing, but hearing Gavin's voice brought him back to the matter at hand, and he looked back through the scope. All he could see was darkness.

"I don't know where he is, I can't see shit," Michael replied, trying to hide the shakiness in his voice. "But, Gavin, are you-"

"It's just my leg, I'll live," Gavin said weakly. "It fucking hurts, though. Hey, I hear footsteps- oi, give that back! That's my mic!" His last few words sounded distant to Michael.

"So, I'm assuming Geoff is on the other side of this thing," the stranger's voice spoke coolly into Michael's ear. "I can't hear shit, because I don't have an earpiece on, so I guess I'll talk, you listen. Oh, no hard feelings, yeah? I was hired to do this, so nothing personal."

Gavin let out a yelp on the other end of the line, followed by distant yelling, "Hey, you bloody stood on my leg - you know, the one you just shot! You prick!" 

Michael's fists clenched by his sides, and he tried to calm his breathing down, his anger starting to cloud his judgement. God, he wanted to head over there right now, he was going to kill the asshole that thought he could fuck with _his_ crew, _his_ boi...

"I've been keeping an eye on Fake AH for a while now, you're really got a name for yourself. I'll give the kid here my card, put it in his pocket in case you ever need a bit of help." 

Sirens sounded in the distance. "Guess that's my cue. I'm going to head before I get arrested. Nice talking to you." The sound of static filled Michael's ears, and he assumed that this stranger had broken Gavin's microphone.

"God fucking damnit, Geoff, I told you he shouldn't have gone in!" Michael yelled. 

"Jack and I are pulling up out back now, he'll be fine," Geoff's voice broke through the static. 

"We'll be gone by the time the cops even show," Jack added in. 

Michael frowned at the cars fast approaching in the distance. "Hey, if you see that dickhead that shot Gavin, shoot him in the head for me."

"I'm in the place," Geoff commented. "I've got Gavin - Jesus Christ, you weigh nothing. The other guy's fucked off to nowhere, though. We'll be over to you in a minute, Michael."

Michael started to pack up his equipment and made his way down the stairs. The car was already waiting outside by the time he got down. He opened the back door and jumped into the car. Jack's foot was on the accelerator before he had even closed the door.

Michael pulled the Brit beside him closer to him and the boy laid his head on Michael's lap.

"Oww, fucking prick bastard pleb. That hurt like hell. After he shot it, he stood on it. Stood on it. And did you hear him call me a kid, like he's actually older than me? Fucking nerve."

Michael stroked Gavin's hair lightly. His eyes travelled to the bullet wound on Gavin's thigh, and he clenched his teeth.

"I'm going to kill him," he growled. "Who the fuck was that?"

"He said... Narvaez? I didn't recognise the name, anyway," Gavin mumbled, letting out a hitched breath when the car went over a bump. "Oww..."

"We're pulling in now. Caleb'll fix you up in no time," Jack assured him, pulling into the driveway. They must have called Caleb on the way to collect Michael.

After much protest from Gavin, Michael managed to convince the blond to let him carry him inside. Caleb had already laid out a white cloth over the dining table, and Michael placed Gavin on it.

Caleb gave him a nod of dismissal, but Michael ignored him. He squeezed Gavin's hand and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Let Caleb fix me up, you munthead," Gavin teased weakly. Michael raised an eyebrow at him.

"He can fix you up with me here," he retorted. Caleb was quick to protest.

"Actually, no, I can't-" Michael's glare was enough to shut the medic up. Gavin let out a small laugh, which soon turned into a grimace.

"I'm fine, Michael, I've been shot before. Hell, I've shot myself before," he said, winking at Michael. Michael rolled his eyes dramatically at the memory of the Brit accidentally shooting his own foot.

"Come on, Michael. I wanted to discuss some things with you and Jack, anyway," Geoff spoke up. Michael sighed.

"Alright, _alright_ , Jesus," he said. He leaned over the table to kiss Gavin, one hand sliding into the boy's jean pocket as he did. Gavin lifted his head to meet his lips as Michael's hand clasped on to a piece of card in his pocket. He pulled back, taking the card with him.

Gavin smirked at him. "See you later. Hopefully, I'll be a bit less bloody then." Michael gave him a lopsided grin, but failing to hide the worry in his eyes. He followed Jack and Geoff down the hall.

They stopped in the middle of the hallway, just outside of Michael and Gavin's room. Geoff's eyes lingered on Michael's clenched fists before meeting his eyes.

"Don't know why you're so mad at Narvaez, anyway," he commented. Michael went to protest, but Geoff raised a hand to silence him. "I just mean that the guy said he was hired by someone. We should really be pissed at whoever gave him the money to do that."

"Alright, and until we find out who that is, I'll be directing all my anger onto that shithead," Michael retorted. 

"Roosterteeth?" Jack suggested. Geoff shook his head.

"Doubt it. We've been getting on well with them lately, kept to our territory. There wouldn't really be any reason for them to hire someone to rob a store, especially considering it would cost more than it's worth. Not their style, either."

"So, what, we've got another gang trying to invade our territory?" Jack asked, lips tilting downwards. Michael shrugged, only half paying attention to the conversation, the other half focusing on the card in his hand. He was itching to go into his room and call the number.

"I'm heading to my room, going to get to sleep," Michael butted in, shoving past the two before either could speak up.

He slammed the door closed behind him and waited for their voices to fade down the hallway before taking out his phone. The card he had stolen from Gavin's pocket seemed to be a business card of some sort. It had the name _Ray Narvaez Jr_ written across the top, obscure details of jobs he could be hired for underneath. 

Michael punched in the phone number and held the mobile to his ear. His stomach twisted at the sound of the ringing. He knew that Geoff was going to be annoyed he called before consulting with them, and contemplated hanging up just as the call went through.

"Hey, who's this?" the voice he recognised from earlier said lazily. Michael took a seat on the bottom of the bed, a scowl spreading across his face.

"I fucking swear to God, I'm going to-"

"Oh, Michael," Narvaez interrupted, sounding completely unperturbed by Michael's tone. "I'd figured you'd call. What's up?"

"Shut the fuck up, Narvaez," Michael hissed back, anger overtaking any curiousity as to how the man knew his name. "You shot my boyfriend."

"Yeah, I remember. How's Gavin doing, anyway? It was just his leg, I'm sure he'll be grand." There was a pause, before he added on the end, "I prefer Ray, by the way. It's easier than Narvaez."

Now the dickhead had the nerve to ask about Gavin? God, Michael couldn't wait until Kdin tracked the fucker down and this kid got what was coming to him

"Listen here, asshole," Michael's voice was growing louder, his Jersey accent slipping back as he got angrier. "I'm going to fucking find you, and I'm going to put a bullet through your head."

There was silence on the other end of the line, and for a moment Michael thought he had finally intimidated the guy. Then his voice came back, sounding completely bored with Michael's threats.

"Nice, very Liam Neeson-esque," he commented, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Now, if you excuse me, I have better things to-"

The door opened and Michael didn't get to hear the rest of Narvaez's sentence. Geoff furrowed his eyebrows at the fuming ginger.

"Who is that?" he asked. Michael held up the business card for Geoff to see, not even bothering to pretend it was anyone else. Geoff's eyes widened, before turning into a glare. He was probably pissed that Michael had called before telling him, but he couldn't care less. 

"Who is that?" this time, the question came from over the phone. "Is that Geoff? Oh, put him on, anyone I can have an intelligent conversation with, for the love of God."

Geoff reached his hand out for the phone. Michael slammed it into his open palm with an eye roll. Geoff held the phone up to his ear.

"Narvaez," he breathed, making his way out of the room. He gestured for Michael to go check on Gavin, and Michael headed down the hallway reluctantly. "I've a few questions for you..."

Geoff's conversation was soon drowned out by the sound of Gavin's complaints. "This sucks. Jesus Christ, that hurt. Hey, Caleb, do you have any more pain meds, because seriously-"

"Gavin," Michael interrupted from the doorway. Gavin looked over at the man and smiled.

"Hey, Michael," he greeted. He was now sitting on the table, legs dangling over the edge. Caleb was packing away his equipment on the other side of the table. "I'm good. Well, it still hurts like hell, and I won't be able to walk for a while, but you know. I'll live, or whatever."

"I told you that you shouldn't have gone in," Michael said. He walked over and hopped onto the table, sitting beside Gavin. "See, this is why you're the idiot, and you should always listen to me, and agree with me. Forever."

Gavin rolled his eyes, a grin forming on his face. "You love me, really."

A smile spread across Michael's cheeks in spite of himself. He shoved Gavin's shoulder lightly.

"Yeah, fuckface, I guess I do." 

There was a small pause, as the boy's just sat in each other's company, before Michael added with a small smirk, "Just a little bit, though."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first chapter..   
> The title is lyrics from The Phoenix by Fall Out Boy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, second chapter up. I'll probably be updating this story about twice a week, but I'm not sure yet, so we'll see I guess. also, hope you enjoy and all that jazz.

Geoff took a seat at the dining table beside Jack. Gavin turned to face the two from the couch, crutches lying on the floor beside him. It had been two days since he had been shot, but Caleb had told him that he shouldn't walk on the leg for about two weeks. It was already getting frustrating.

"I called Narvaez again last night," Geoff began. Gavin took a sip of his beer, glancing over to where Michael stood behind the kitchen counter. The red head's grasp on his own drink was tense, his eyes narrowed at Geoff. 

"He said he'd be willing to talk about who hired him," Geoff continued. "He was paid to keep his mouth shut, though, so we're going to be paying a lot for the information." Michael's gaze turned into a glare, his grip on the glass so tight that Gavin was almost certain it was going to break.

"You can't be serious," Michael said. "We're not actually paying the guy, right? Just get him in here, punch him a few times, he'll talk. He was pretty scrawny, and couldn't have been older than me. It'd be easy." Judging by the expression on his face, Gavin was sure Michael would be happy to do it, too.

Geoff looked uneasy. "I don't think threats would work on him," he said.

"Not unless you go through with them, sure."

Geoff ignored Michael's comment, his eyes trailing down to the table. "He wants ten grand."

"Ten _thousand_? How much information does this guy even have?" asked Jack, eyebrows raised. 

"If someone's invading our territory, I need to know about it," said Geoff, looking up at Jack. "Anyway, it's not up to negotiation. I'm the boss." He took a swig of his beer. "He's on his way here."

Gavin almost choked on his drink. Michael and Jack looked equally as shocked, staring wordlessly at Geoff. Geoff shrugged at the groups reactions. "I'm the boss, remember?"

"You've mentioned," Michael muttered darkly, finishing off his drink. He placed the glass on the counter and sighed. "Just, let me punch him once?"

Geoff raised an eyebrow at him. "Do I need to kick you out before he gets here?"

Michael rolled his eyes and started to pour himself another glass.

There was a knock on the door, and everyone turned to look at it. Gavin cleared his throat. "Is anyone going to get that, or..."

Geoff walked over and opened the door to a dark haired man with a smug grin. He walked past Geoff, eyes scanning the room, gaze flitting over the open kitchen and dining area before stopping on Gavin. 

He gave the Brit a crooked smile. "Hey, sorry for shooting you, dude. No hard feelings?" Gavin shrugged a shoulder and took a drink. Narvaez let out a small laugh.

Geoff closed the door and made his way back to his seat at the table.

"So, you were going to tell us about your employer," Geoff pressed. Narvaez kept eye contact with Gavin for a moment, before his head snapped towards Geoff. He walked over to the table but didn't take a seat.

"I did," he agreed. "You also said you'd pay me ten grand." Michael scowled at him from across the kitchen. Gavin caught eyes with the curly haired man and grinned at him. Michael rolled his eyes. 

Geoff took an envelope out from his jacket and slid it across the table. Narvaez opened it, examining the contents, before shrugging and taking a seat at the table.

"The one's who hired me, they called themselves the Resurrection. they had this symbol of a bloody cow skull or some shit, it's pretty weird," he said. "They paid me to rob the store, told me to show up about ten o'clock. They said you guys might show up, that I should just shoot you if you got in the way or whatever. Thought it was kind of weird, seeing as they were paying me more than the store was even worth." He shrugged. "I've gotten weirder requests, though."

"Like what?" Gavin piped up from the couch. Narvaez looked over at him, an amused smirk on his lips. Gavin took a sip of his beer and noticed Narvaez's eyes glance down to the drink. He raised his eyebrows.

"Want a bev? We've more in the fridge," he offered. He could see Michael's expression darken in his peripheral vision, but Narvaez shook his head anyway.

"No, thanks. Don't drink." Gavin shrugged.

"Your loss."

Geoff cleared his throat to catch their attention. "So, do you know where their base is located?" he quipped up.

"I think they have a few. I visited a warehouse just outside the city - give me a pen and paper and I'll write the address," he told them, drumming his fingers on the table. Geoff nodded to Michael, and he grabbed the items from a drawer in the kitchen.

He strolled over to Narvaez and threw the notepad down on the table. Michael paused before leaving, and when the man turned to look at him, he swung a punch towards his face.  
Narvaez caught Michael's fist before anyone even had time to blink. He stood up from his chair and twisted Michael's arm, before sending a harsh kick to the back of his knee. Michael stumbled to the ground and Narvaez placed a foot on his chest to push him down.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun, directing it at Michael's forehead.

Gavin stared at the gun pointing at his boyfriend's head, suddenly forgetting to breathe. Michael's expression was absolutely furious, but he could see the fear behind his eyes. Narvaez, on the other hand, looked completely calm.

Geoff started to laugh. The rest of the Fake AH Crew stared at him incredulously. Narvaez lifted his foot from Michael's chest, and the boy started to climb to his feet, dusting off his clothes.

"Nice working with you," Geoff said. Jack and Michael were both glaring at Geoff now. Gavin gulped down his beer.

Narvaez gave Geoff a nod and started towards the door. He stopped with his hand on the door knob. 

"I wasn't there for long, but I did hear a name," he added. "Edgar."

He closed the door behind him.

***

Michael let out a string of curses as the bullets broke the glass of the car windows and ducked further behind the vehicle for cover.

"Michael? You okay, boi?" Gavin's voice asked into his ear. Michael nodded, before remembering that he couldn't see him.

"Yeah," he let out between breaths. 

"Good." He could hear the resentment in Gavin's voice that he couldn't be out there by Michael's side as per usual. He was stuck in the car with Jack, since he couldn't even drive with his busted leg; the boy didn't have a licence, anyway. He had been told to stay at home, but they had all known that was never going to happen.

"Everything's set up inside, I'm ready to go. Tell me when you've cleared everyone from outside, Michael," Geoff spoke over the headset. Michael risked peeking his head out from the side of the car and caught a glance of the back of Geoff's head through one of the warehouse windows.

"Give me a second," he mumbled, shooting five times in quick succession at his attackers. They fell to the ground. Michael shook the glass from his hair and stood up.

"Alright, you're good to-" he stopped mid sentence at the sound of the parking lot gate opening, and a bus drove in. 

Even from his position, at the other end of the parking lot, he could see the heavily armed men and woman standing in the back of the bus. He stared at the monster, mouth gaping.

"What. The Actual. Fuck." 

"What is it, Michael?" Jack and Geoff both asked at once. 

"Don't go outside," he warned Geoff. "There's still a lot of people I have to deal with." 

There was silence on the other end of the line, and Michael assumed that Geoff had seen the monstrosity, as seconds after he said, "Holy shit. We're going to need some backup."

"I can drive in," Jack suggested.

"No," Michael said, a bit too quickly. As capable as both Jack and Gavin were, Michael didn't like the thought of Gavin coming out here when he couldn't even walk.  
He hurriedly tried to fix his too-quick answer.

"I just mean, umm," he began. "We'll need to get out of here, fast. We can't afford for you to get shot." _And if Gavin got hurt, I wouldn't be able to live with myself_.

Jack seemed to get Michael's actual message, but unfortunately, so did Gavin.

"I got shot in the leg, I'm not bloody paralyzed," he complained. "You need backup, he's going to get backup."

"Yes, he will," Geoff agreed. "Just not from you. I just sent him a message, he should be here soon enough."

"What? Who is it?" Michael's questions were unnecessary, though, as bullets began to pummel the bus from just a few metres away, smashing the glass in the windows. He turned his head and saw glasses and brown hair glancing up from behind a car.

His stomach dropped, and Michael's fears were confirmed when the Hispanic looked over at him and smirked. 

"Hey, Michael," Narvaez greeted, as though they were old friends.

_Oh, come on. You've got to be fucking kidding me._

Michael shot him a glare and ducked behind a car again as the guards turned to shoot. He stayed as close to the ground as he could, waiting for the onslaught of bullets to let up before looking up again.

When he turned back around, Narvaez was gone.

Michael cursed, his eyes scanning the parking lot for any sign of movement. He finally saw it, a figure approaching the stopped bus. Michael's eyes widened. 

No way. No _way_ had he just managed to get through the whole parking lot to the bus in a matter of seconds, without being shot. No way.

The figure disappeared around the other side of the bus. Through the bus windows, Michael could see the bus doors open throught the windows. The figure stepped on board. 

Within seconds, everyone on the bus was shot down, dead.

"He can't be fucking serious," he breathed. "How the fuck... what?" 

"He's that impressive, huh?" Geoff asked in his ear. Michael's silence must have been answer enough. "Yeah, well, he better be. The kid cost me enough." 

Narvaez got off the bus and walked around to the front. He waved Michael out of hiding, and the ginger cautiously made his way over to the man. 

"That's all of them," Narvaez said casually, as if he was talking about the weather, and not the fact that he had just gotten on a bus _full of people shooting for him and killed them all without a scratch_.

Looking Narvaez over again, he could see that last statement wasn't true; Michael had assumed that the blood dripping from the man's shoulder had been his victims', but closer inspection proved it was a bullet wound. The guy hadn't so much as flinched at the injury.

"Dude, you've been shot," Michael said, gesturing to the hole in his shoulder. Narvaez glanced down, before looking up at Michael.

"Yeah, I know."

The two stood in awkward silence for a moment, before Geoff jogged out of the warehouse. He approached the two of them, a grin on his face.

"Good work, lads. Everyone alright, then?" His eyes wandered to Narvaez's shoulder. "Oh."

"I'm fine," Narvaez waved off his concern.

"You've been shot," Geoff pointed out.

"I've noticed."

Geoff stared at him for a second, before shrugging. "Alright, then. Jack, get the car around here?"

"On our way," came the reply. The car pulled into the parking lot a few seconds later, and the three hopped into the backseat.

Gavin looked back at Narvaez, eyes glancing to the bullet wound, but not mentioning it.

"Thought it'd be you," he admitted. "Geoff seemed to like you when we met a few days back." He gave Narvaez a crooked smile, which was returned, before turning back in his seat.

Michael stared at the two incredulously. How could Gavin act so casually about the fact that they seemed to be working with the man now? Though, if anyone was going to forgive Narvaez, Michael wasn't surprised it was him.

"I left the Resurrection a message," Geoff said, grinning to himself. Jack rolled his eyes at him in the rearview mirror.

"What was it?" he asked.

He shrugged. "I just said: _Edgar, stay out of my territory. - Ramsey_." Geoff smirked at the other boys' laughs, which only increased as the warehouse exploded behind them.

Michael grinned. "That'll show the Resurrection that they can't fuck with the Fake AH Crew."


	3. Chapter 3

Michael tapped his foot against the floor from the back seat of the car, a sly grin on his face. Nerves tumbled around in his stomach as he eyed the bank across the road. No matter how many times he did it, pre-heist nerves were always bad. And exhilarating. 

It had been four days since they had bombed the Resurrection's warehouse, and the crew were all in high spirits. The bank heist had been planned by Jack down to a tee, a celebration for fucking up the Resurrection's plans, and Michael was itching to get inside.

"How are we looking, Gavin? We good to go?" Geoff spoke from the passenger seat. Gavin's leg was still on the mend, and according to Caleb he would be walking again by the end of the week, but as it was, he was stuck back at the base. He had been put in charge of watching the security cameras with Kdin, and had not been happy about missing out on the heist.

The reply from Gavin came back unclear. "Geoff... I can't really... breaking up? Kdin, what's-" Static interrupted his conversation and Michael ripped his headset off. He turned to Jack in the driver's seat.

"What's up with the headsets? Why are they fucked up? Are we too far away, or something?" he asked. Jack frowned and took off his own headset.

"That shouldn't - I mean, we've been further before. I don't know, to be honest." Michael pursed his lips and turned to Geoff.

Geoff paused, thinking of what to do, before taking a cheap phone out from the glove compartment. He scanned through the contacts and held it up to his ear. It answered on the second ring.

"Kdin, wait- Yeah, I'll put you on speaker." Geoff held out the phone and pressed a button. Kdin's voice rang out through the car.

"What's up with the headsets?" Michael called from the back.

"I don't know, they shouldn't have been working up like that. I'll ask Jeremy and Matt about it later, see if they know anything- what? Gavin, wait-"

"Guys, don't go in," Gavin was speaking now, his voice hurried. "There's already someone in there, some bloke in a cow mask. He keeps looking at the camera, kind of weird. But-"

"Wait," Geoff said, trying to stay calm. "Someone's robbing the place?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Gavin replied. "Yes."

"God damn it!" Michael yelled, punching the back of Jack's seat. Jack rolled his eyes at him, but didn't look any happier.

"How did they even know we were going to be here?" Geoff murmured, mostly to himself.

"Maybe it's not the Resurrection?" Jack said, but they all knew the chances of that were slim.

Gavin cleared his throat over the phone. "Uhh, guys? I think you should probably get out of there before the cops show. Just an idea."

Jack pushed his foot down on the accelerator and the car shot forward.

*

Michael stormed into the house behind Geoff and followed him down to the basement, where they had all their technology equipment set up. Gavin and Kdin were sitting beside each other, looking at two different computer screens. Jack, Geoff and Michael walked over and looked over their shoulders.

Gavin was flicking through the bank's different security cameras. The place was overrun by police. Michael turned his gaze to Kdin, who seemed to be messaging Jeremy.

"The headsets?" he asked, and Kdin nodded.

"Jeremy and Matt don't really know, either. They said it could have just been a malfunction, or it was possibly sabotaged. Though how someone could have done that without you knowing, when you were wearing them at the time..."

Michael punched the table, causing the computers to shake precariously. Jack shot him a look, but he just rolled his eyes.

"God damnit. We fucking blew up their warehouse. What does it take for these guys to take a hint? _Fuck off_ ," Michael hissed.

"Hey, guys," Gavin called, and everyone turned to look at his screen. 

A bloody cow skull drawn on one of the bank walls was in the perfect position to be seen from the camera, and he remembered Narvaez mentioning it to be the Resurrection's symbol. His eyes continued downwards, at the words written in blood underneath it.

_Ramsay,  
Stay out of my territory.  
\- Edgar._

***

Gavin was still asleep when Michael woke up, which wasn't unusual. He had always been a heavy sleeper, and rarely got up before eleven. It was 10:43 when the Brit blinked his eyes open.

Michael was getting changed at the bottom of the bed. He slipped a black tee over his head and felt arms wrap around his waist. He laughed as Gavin's lips brushed against his neck, the sound of his laughter reverberating through him.

"Morning, Gavin," he greeted. Gavin mumbled out a good morning in between kisses, making his way up Michael's neck. He reached the boy's face and Michael turned towards him, their lips meeting.

Michael felt Gavin smile through the kiss. He pulled Michael closer, hands brushing against his back under his shirt. Michael placed a hand on Gavin's chest and pushed him back onto the bed, the other hand ruffling through his unruly hair. 

The door opened and the two broke apart. Jack stood at the door and awkwardly cleared his throat. "Morning. Uh, am I interrupting something?"

Michael blushed, but Gavin's smile didn't so much as falter. "No, we- where's Geoff?" Michael quickly changed the subject.

"That's what I came here to tell you about, actually. Geoff's called a meeting in the kitchen." Gavin groaned at the news, and Michael rolled his eyes, smiling. The boy had clearly been hoping to get back to what they had been doing before they were interrupted.

Jack walked out of the room, not even bothering to see if the boys had followed him. Michael leaned over to Gavin's ear. 

"Tonight," he murmured, before heading to the kitchen. He stopped at the door and glanced back, smirking at the grin Gavin was wearing on his face.

They made their way into the kitchen, where Jack and Geoff were already waiting at the dining table. Gavin slumped down onto the sofa and threw his crutches down beside him. Michael leaned against the wall.

"Hey, Geoff, what's up? Please tell me we're getting back at the Resurrection-" Michael stopped mid sentence at the sound of a toilet flushing. His head shot towards the bathroom door. 

"Who the fuck..." he trailed off when the door opened. Narvaez walked out, eyes scanning over each member of the group, before heading to the dining table. Michael noticed Gavin tug at his t-shirt, still wearing only his boxers and shirt from last night.

"What's this?" Michael said quietly, trying to keep his anger under control. "What's he doing here?"

Geoff sighed and rolled his eyes, glancing over at Narvaez. "I invited him." 

"I gathered that," Michael said, his tone growing more tense. "I meant more, why the _fuck_ would you do that?"

"I'm right here," Narvaez called over. "Just putting that out there."

"Shut up," Geoff and Michael said at once. Narvaez rolled his eyes, but otherwise didn't look offended. He caught eyes with Gavin and grinned. Gavin returned it with a crooked smile. Michael scowled.

"I don't know if you remember, but two days ago, the Resurrection was one step ahead of us _again_. We need more help," Geoff said sternly. 

"And you called _him_?" 

"Why the hell not? Who else was I supposed to call, anyway?"

"Uh, did you miss the part where he worked for the Resurrection against us, or when he fucking shot my _boyfriend_?" Michael spat out, face growing red. 

"Hey, water under the bridge," Narvaez butted in. Michael ignored him, continuing as though he hadn't even spoken.

"You could have called Rooster Teeth, for fuck's sake, not like we haven't worked together before."

"I considered Rooster Teeth," Geoff agreed. "But I'd rather not get them involved. Not yet, anyway. We can handle this without them."

Michael stared at him incredulously. "So, you decided to trust a guy that could still be working for the Resurrection, over Matt and Burnie?" he said. Geoff shook his head.

"That's not what I'm saying, and you know it," he disagreed. "And he's not working for the Resurrection. That, I know."

Michael didn't bother asking how Geoff knew that. He had been sharing private phone calls with someone over the past few days, and Michael already had his suspicions over who had been on the other end of the line.

"Whatever," Gavin said. "I'm glad that Ray's working with us, we need the help, anyway." 

Michael looked over at him, eyebrows furrowing. He vaguely wondered when Gavin started calling Narvaez Ray.

Gavin turned to look at Michael. "Don't know what you're making a big deal of, anyway, since _I_ was the one that was shot. Not like people haven't done it before." Michael shook his head lightly. The difference was that Michael usually ended up shooting those people through the head, not working with them.

"Hey, if it makes any difference, I am sorry, dude," Ray added in. "And I'm glad I didn't kill you."

Gavin rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you didn't kill me, too," he replied with a light laugh. "It doesn't even really hurt anymore. It kind of sucks not being able to walk, but give me another two days and I should be good to go." Ray smiled at him from the corner of his mouth.

Geoff's phone beeped and he turned it around to show the group a picture, smirking. It showed an office building, glass windows making up the majority of the visible walls. Michael squinted to see the figures, but the faces were too blurry to make out.

"What's that?" Jack asked. Geoff grinned.

"I'll tell you something, hiring Matt and Jeremy was the best decision I've ever made," he said. "It's one of the main office buildings of Immersion Industries, and the guys are pretty sure it's the next place that Edgar's men are going to hit."

"Why would they pull off a heist on an office building?" Narvaez asked.

"Sure, it might not be your usual place for a heist, but it's pretty clever if you think about it. Immersion Industries are mostly known for their technology, they've got all this futuristic crap, and I'm betting most of it is worth a fortune. Plus, the place won't have half the security of a bank."

"When?" said Michael.

"I don't have a clue when the Resurrection are going to hit the place," Geoff admitted. "Which is why we're going tonight.

"Tonight?" Jack echoed. "You want to plan a heist for _tonight_?"

Geoff winked.

***

"You know, you didn't have to stay in the car with me," Gavin said, looking over at the office building. They were currently in the parking lot, engine still running, not otherwise not moving. Geoff, Jack and Ray were all in the building.

"Nah, Jack hasn't been out on a heist in ages anyway, I might as well be the one driving everyone around for a change," Michael replied casually. "Besides, I didn't trust myself not to shoot Narvaez." Gavin rolled his eyes, grinning.

"You know, I have a headset on," Ray spoke up. Gavin smirked. Michael didn't look bothered about Ray hearing his statement and rolled his eyes. Gavin shook his head lightly.

"You know," he said. "Earlier, you said we were going to fuck tonight. Now, we're stuck out here instead. Bloody bad timing on Geoff's part, if you ask me."

"I don't remember saying that," Michael said, smirking. Gavin raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you didn't exactly say it," he corrected himself. "More... heavily implied it." Michael laughed lightly, before turning to Gavin, a cheeky grin on his face.

"I don't see why we still can't." 

Gavin laughed and leaned in to kiss Michael.

"Woah, no way," Jack butted in. "No _way_ are you guys fucking while I'm wearing this headset."

"Well, take the headset off, then," Michael retorted, but he pulled back from Gavin.

"Listen, here assholes," Geoff said. "You guys are our eyes and ears of this operation, and we can't afford you being distracted, so keep your dicks in your pants."

"You know, if you had waited another couple of days, Kdin could have hacked the cameras," Gavin mumbled.

"Plus, Jack and I are on our way out, and you two fucking is something I don't want to see." Gavin rolled his eyes and sighed.

Moments later, two figures appeared beside the car. Gavin's hand hesitated over the gun on his lap, but rested by his side again as Jack and Geoff got into the back.

"We shoved the stuff in the trunk," Jack told them, shutting the door behind them. Michael nodded, eyes not wavering from the building.

"Where's Ray?" Gavin asked. 

"He's-" Geoff started, and they all winced as the sound of gunshots filled their earpieces.

"-Getting rid of the security," Geoff finished. 

Ray's outline was just visible in the dark, the figure jogging towards the door. He slipped in beside Geoff and grinned at the group.

"Everything go alright, then?" he asked. Geoff gave him a thumbs up.

"Sweet."

Michael hit the gas and called back to Ray, "So, where do you want me to drop you off?"

"You can head back to our base, we've got a spare room," Geoff offered. Everyone turned to stare at him. Jack looked worried, Gavin was grinning, and Michael, unsurprisingly, was scowling.

"Uh, I don't think..." Ray let out, scanning their faces warily.

"Don't be ridiculous, he doesn't even have any of his stuff at our place," Michael interjected quickly. Gavin rolled his eyes. Michael was determined to hate the guy.

"He'll fit into my clothes, and he can get his stuff in the morning," added Gavin, half because he actually wanted Ray to stay, and half in spite of Michael's hatred of him. 

Michael scowled, eyes not wavering from the road. Gavin rolled his eyes. It looked like Michael was prepared to sulk for the rest of the journey back, then. He turned in his seat to get a view of the back.

"So, Geoff," he said eagerly. "Leave the guy any messages this time?"

"Nah, nothing fancy," Geoff replied with a smirk. "Just the Fake AH logo. What's the point of fucking him over if he doesn't know we did it, right?" Gavin grinned.

They pulled up to the house, and Ray immediately headed to the guest bedroom. The other's hung around the kitchen for a while, drinking in celebration of another victory of the Resurrection. 

Michael and Gavin headed to bed around two. Any anger that Michael had felt about Ray staying with them seemed to have been washed away by the alcohol.

"You know, it's not _that_ late," Michael said as he climbed into bed. Gavin raised his eyebrows.

"Mhmm?" 

"And, I did promise..." Gavin looked up to see a cheeky grin on Michael's face.

"We don't have a headset on anymore," Gavin replied, smirking. Michael's grin grew wider.

Gavin pulled off his shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post this yesterday, but my computer was acting up. So, yeah, another chapter. :3  
> Also, the notes on the first two chapters are messed up... the notes from chapter one are actually at the end of the second chapter instead of the first chapter? Yeah.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> t/w torture and stuff... sorry.

Michael rolled over in the bed, his hand reaching out for Gavin but grasping at bedsheets. He opened his eyes, a groan escaping his lips. The bed was empty. 

He frowned slightly and sat up on his elbows. His eyes trailed over to the alarm clock on the bedside table. 9:21. Huh. It was pretty early for Gavin to be up. Michael almost always woke up before the Brit.

He got up, not even bothering to make the bed as he headed for the door. He paused at the sight of the crutches beside the bed and smirked. Caleb had told Gavin to use them for another day, in case the wound would open again. He was going to give Gavin shit when he found out.

He walked into the kitchen, but found only Jack, frying himself some breakfast. He nodded at Michael when he entered. Michael sat down at the dining table and started to glance through the mail on the table.

"Hey, Jack, have you seen Gavin? He wasn't there when I woke up, but his crutches are still there," Michael said absently. There didn't seem to have any mail for him, but he did notice an envelope with no stamp, simply addressed to _Ramsey_. He turned the envelope over and the symbol on the back made his blood run cold.

"No, I haven't seen him," Jack replied, but Michael wasn't really listening anymore. "He wasn't using his crutches? Ha, can't wait to see Caleb hear that."

"Jack," Michael's voice was shaky as he held up the envelope. Jack squinted to view it, not wearing his glasses. He frowned at the bloody cow logo.

"Is that-"

"Resurrection's symbol?" Michael replied grimly. He started to tear at the top of the envelope, but his shaking hands were making it almost impossible. He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, before finally ripping it open. 

_Ramsey,_  
We have something of yours.  
\- Edgar. 

Michael frowned slightly, confused. His brain didn't want to comprehend what he had just read, didn't want to think that maybe-

"Gavin," Geoff said quietly over his shoulder, and Michael hadn't realized the man had been there until he spoke. His stomach lurched at Geoff's statement.

"No, that can't... that doesn't make sense," Michael said dully, not even believing what he was saying himself. "He was- he was in the room with me. There's no way they could have taken him without me noticing."

"They have Gavin?" Jack said from the kitchen, his face dropping. He started to make his way over to read the letter for himself. 

Michael stared at the note, eyebrows furrowed. There wasn't even any ransom, any message to tell them to stay away, just _we have him_. What were they supposed to do to get him back?

Get him back... God, Gavin was _gone_. He had been taken right under Michael's nose. Tears started to brim in his eyes, blurring his vision. He dropped the letter onto the table and sat back, fiercely trying to blink away the tears. He couldn't believe he was crying. He couldn't even remember the last time he cried.

Gavin would be fine. He was always fine. He was the idiot who managed to accidentally shoot his own foot, and still be skipping again within the week. No matter what happened, the boy was always okay. He would be fine. He _had_ to be fine.

Because if he wasn't, Michael wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Arms wrapped around his shaking shoulders, and he felt Jack's beard brush against his head. He leaned into Jack, letting out an angry sob into the man's shoulder.

Except he didn't even feel angry. He wish he did, because anger gave him power, made him feel stronger, brought him to action. Now? He just felt useless. He was worried, and upset, and scared as fuck, but not angry. He didn't have the energy to be angry. Gavin was probably being tortured, or killed, or worse... and Michael was completely helpless.

"Hey, what's going on?" Narvaez called from the hall. Michael took a deep breath and pulled himself away from Jack, regaining his composure. He wiped away the tears as Narvaez entered. 

"They took Gavin," Geoff said simply, his voice cracking, and handed him the message. Narvaez scanned the letter and took a seat at the table beside Michael. He frowned. His eyes glanced over to Michael, who was trying his best not to look too upset, before he spoke up.

"I'm sure he's fine," he said quietly. Michael turned to glare at him, but Narvaez wasn't finished.

"They wouldn't hurt him, they have no reason too."

Michael let out a bitter laugh. "It's Gavin. I'm sure he'll give them plenty of reason to."

Narvaez shook his head. "Nah. They just want Geoff to back off, and if they hurt Gavin, they know he'll hunt them down. They're not that suicidal." 

Michael nodded, though he didn't fully believe the man.

"Just in case it wasn't clear, though," Geoff added. "Whether Gavin's been hurt or not, we're still hunting those motherfuckers down."

Michael attempted a weak smile. "I figured," he replied. "So, what now?"

"Now, I'm going to call Kdin and Lindsay, and Jack will call Jeremy and Matt, and we wait for them to track the fuckers down. They've done it before."

"I think I'll head down to the room," Michael said quietly. He felt like he could break down at any second, and didn't want to do that in front of them. Geoff nodded. 

As far as Michael was aware, Gavin had only been held captive twice in his life - Michael hadn't yet met Gavin the first time, and the second time Michael had been right there with him. It was then that they had met the Fake AH Crew, and they had escaped before anything had even happened.

He stopped in the middle of the hallway as Narvaez spoke. He was talking quietly, probably words not meant for Michael's ears.

"The note is kind of worrying me," he admitted. Geoff scoffed.

"Yeah, this whole thing is worrying," Geoff agreed. There was a pause.

"No, I mean what it said exactly. The Resurrection didn't seem to be trying to negotiate for a return of Gavin, didn't mention wanting anything. And I don't want to be the one to say it, but maybe that means he's-"

Michael turned away. He was afraid of hearing the rest of the sentence.

***

Gavin groaned through the headache that pulsed through his brain, his eyes opening to see only a wall. Blood stuck to his hair and slowlydribbled down the side of his face, oozing from the wound that had probably caused his headache in the first place. He pulled at the rope that tied his wrists to the wooden armrests, but it proved to be futile.

Gavin tensed at the sound of a door opening behind him. Any confusion he had about his current situation was drowned out by fear, making his hands sweat and heart race. 

Footsteps slowly made their way towards him, the sound echoing off the bare walls. The sound stopped directly behind him.

"Gavin Free," the person mused, clearly male and clearly American.

"At your service," Gavin replied snarkily. He wasn't going to give this man the satisfaction of knowing that he was already bloody terrified. "Sorry, but I don't have a bloody clue who you are."

"John." Gavin nodded at his answer, before pausing.

"That's not your real name, is it?"

"Nah."

"Well, that's not fair. You know my real name, but I don't know yours? I can't even bloody see you."

"Yeah, but see, the difference is that you're the one tied to a chair," John replied, "And I've got knives." The sound of a blade scraping against wood made Gavin flinch.

John made his way around the chair until he was standing directly in front of Gavin. He knelt down and held the dagger in front of him, staring at it curiously as he spun it in his hands. The sight made Gavin's stomach churn.

John's eyes flickered to Gavin, and his mouth curled into a twisted smile. Gavin's eyes didn't leave the dagger, tense. 

"You should relax. The knife goes in much easier," John commented idly. He stabbed the knife into Gavin's right thigh, almost directly over his recent bullet wound. Gavin gasped before biting down on his lip to stop himself from crying out. His eyes were glued to the blade protruding from his leg.

John scoffed at his reaction. "Oh, calm down. I made sure to avoid anything too serious. I've been doing this whole torture thing for a while now, and I don't want you dying just yet." His mouth twisted into a smirk. "We have to ugly you up first."

John removed the knife and Gavin screamed.

***

Michael was on edge the entire drive, hands shaking on the wheel. He had actually managed to get some sleep last night for the first time since Gavin went missing.

_Not missing_ , he corrected himself. _Taken_.

Geoff had woken him up at ten in the morning with the news that they knew where Gavin was. Michael was the first one in the car.

Lindsay had apparently found the building a few hours ago, after Jeremy and Matt had tracked down a Resurrection member and she persuaded the man to talk. Michael didn't ask what Geoff meant by persuaded.

Jack had visited the building to scope it out, and deduced from the amount of security that the information was probably true. He had been assured it was going to be difficult, but at that point Michael couldn't care less. Gavin had been gone for three days at that point, and whenever he thought about it his heart hurt.

Which was all the fucking time.

Geoff and Jack had taken the van, which left Michael and Narvaez in the car. Since Narvaez revealed that he didn't have a license, Michael was stuck driving. He didn't even care about the fact that he was stuck by himself with Narvaez - as far as he was concerned, as long as the guy was helping them get Gavin back, he could tolerate him. He was also glad to be the one driving, though it didn't prove to be as much of a distraction as Michael had hoped.

Narvaez glanced up from his phone and noticed Michael's hands shaking on the wheel. 

"You know, I used to have panic attacks a lot," Narvaez said quietly. Michael furrowed his eyebrows slightly and shot him a glance out of the corner of his eye. "It helps if you focus on your breathing."

Michael took Narvaez's advice and noticed the shaking lessen considerably. Narvaez looked back down at his phone.

"You said you used to have panic attacks," Michael said. "How - why did they stop?"

Narvaez turned his phone off and leaned forward, considering the question. 

"I don't know," he admitted. "I guess, after a while, I just stopped caring, basically. It's like, I'm not scared anymore, because I don't care what happens. I don't even usually care about pain, but that might be just because I've built up resistance to that kind of thing." Michael recalled when Narvaez got shot in the shoulder, and brushed it off as though it was just a scratch.

"I guess, when you don't have anything - or rather, anyone, I guess - to live for, you just don't care anymore," Narvaez said quietly, turning to look out the window. Michael didn't know how to respond to that. He wondered if it was worth it - no fear or worry, no restless nights, but no one you cared about. He wondered if, given the option, he would take that over what he had.

But then he thought about Gavin, and knew that the answer was a resounding no.

They were approaching the house now, a three storey that Geoff had compared to a mansion, and he hadn't been kidding. Michael's heart leaped in his chest, but he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Within a few hours, he would be with Gavin.

"Thanks, Narv - Ray," Michael muttered. Ray looked over at him for a moment, before giving him a nod. This hadn't meant he had forgiven Ray completely, but maybe the guy wasn't as bad as he had thought. Hell, he was helping them rescue Gavin. 

Ray's phone buzzed and he checked his messages.

"Geoff and Jack are in position," he reported. "Guess it's go time." Michael took one last deep breath and nodded, forcing a grin on his face.

"Let's blow these fuckers up."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter and stuff, wooh. 
> 
> Also, t/w for torture stuff... not really much, but yeah...

"You know, at first, you little smart ass comments were kind of funny," John admitted. "Now, they're just pissing me off."

Gavin grinned at him, blood staining his teeth. His voice was hoarse and cracked when he spoke. "Fuck off."

John's fist connected with the side of his jaw. Gavin's head smacked to the side, and he spit out blood. His head felt like his brain was trying to break out of his skull with a sledgehammer. He looked back at John and gave him that same bloody smile.

John shook his head. "Still not willing to talk?" he asked with a sigh. He pulled out his dagger and held it directly in front of Gavin's face.

"I have to admit, I was kind of avoiding the face. Even with the whole nose thing you have going on, you're actually don't look half bad, you know? But you're not exactly giving me much to work with, here." 

John moved the dagger towards Gavin's cheek and the boy instinctively pulled away helplessly. John smirked at his reaction and pulled the knife back.

"You know, if you don't talk, we don't have any use for you. And if we don't have any use for you, we kill you," John shrugged. Gavin didn't break eye contact with him. 

"My boss thinks you'll crack, since he thinks your the weakest of the Fake AH Crew, but I don't think you will. I also think that Jack is probably weaker than you, though not by much, I'll tell you, but my boss seemed to adamantly disagree with me, there."

"If you don't think I'll talk, why am I still alive?" Gavin said hoarsely. John snapped his fingers and pointed at him, a smile on his lips.

"Ah, good question. See, I'm waiting for your buddies to show up on some sort of rescue mission, when Michael Jones, or Jack Patillo, or even Geoff Ramsey, the man himself, barges through that door right there-" John made a motion with his knife to the door behind Gavin, "-and I stab you through the chest, right in front of them, when they were _this_ close to getting you back," John held out his index finger and thumb, holding them barely an inch away from each other. 

"And I'll watch them _break_."

John's smile had turned sinister, and Gavin was suddenly aware that he was holding his breath. He forced himself to breathe out again, but it came out raggedy.

"Hey, maybe if you talk, I'll spare them that horror. I'll kill you before they even shop up. I mean, we both know you're not getting out of here alive, but you want as little collateral damage as possible when that happens, right? Because I'm sure that Ramsey seeing the boy that was like a son to him killed, or Jones seeing his little fuck buddy murdered, or hell, even Jack seeing a friend as close as you die right in front of them, is enough to screw them up real good."

Gavin's expression had turned dark, his breathing heavy. He looked John directly in the eye, all humour gone from his voice. "You can go to hell."

John laughed in his face. "I guess I'll see you there, then, 'ey?" he smirked, but his smile faded when the door opened. Gavin held his breath, panic striking through him. Johm smirked at his terrified expression.

"Not one of your crew members yet, kid," he muttered. He stood up and stepped to the side, just in Gavin's peripheral vision. 

John was speaking to someone, shooting Gavin a glance every few seconds. A man stepped into view, the back of a blond head visible. He finished his conversation with John and turned to face Gavin. 

Gavin's eyes flickered to the cow mask attached to the man's belt, and then back to his face.

"You're Edgar," he guessed.

Cold eyes stared at him in reply, an amused smile on his face.

"And you're the Brit."

"In the flesh," Gavin agreed, voice cracking at the end. Two days of almost non-stop screaming had completely wrecked his vocal cords.

The man examined him for a moment, smiling smugly. His gaze made Gavin feel uncomfortable, and he squirmed in his seat. 

Edgar's head shot up at the sound of an alarm.

"Ah. It seems we have visitors," he said. Gavin's stomach lurched. This had been the moment he had been waiting for since he had arrived, but John's words had lodged a shard of fear in his heart.

Edgar strode out of the room and John stood in front of Gavin, his smirk turning into a smug grin. "Well, how about that? Speak of the devil, 'ey, kid?" Gavin's face was expressionless.

The two waited in silence, Gavin tense, John twisting his knife in his hands. He looked as happy as a child on Christmas morning, and after a few minutes seemed unable to hold in his excitement.

"God, I've been waiting so fucking long for this moment," he admitted. "I can't fucking _wait_ until you're dead, and I don't have to hear that stupid accent, or your stupid words, ever again." Gavin stared at a crack in the wall behind John, trying to ignore him.

The door opened, and Gavin's head shot up, but John made no move to attack him. A female spoke from the door.

"Edgar wants you out here." He looked mildly disappointed, but shrugged a shoulder.

"I'll be back," he assured Gavin, winking at him before making his way to the door.

As soon as he was gone, Gavin thrashed against the ropes, but knew that if he hadn't undone them over three days, he wasn't going to get them untied within a couple of minutes. Tears he had been holding back since his arrival began to spill from his eyes, and he let out a small gasp.

He didn't care, at that point, if John walked back in. He'd be dead within the hour either way, and Gavin was tired of pretending to be strong. God, he was so _tired_. 

The door opened behind him, and Gavin slumped against his chair, not even bothering to give his usual wise remark. The footsteps halted at the door, and Gavin furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what had made John stop.

"Gavin?"

His heart leaped in his chest and he let out a sob of relief.

"Michael," he gasped out. "Oh, Michael, I missed you so much, thank God." The footsteps started up again, hurriedly making their way towards him. 

"Stop talking," Michael said quietly. "Your voice-" Gavin nodded quickly, causing his headache to worsen. His throat was aching from overusing his voice, but between all the other injuries on his body, it was barely noticable. 

Michael stepped in front of Gavin, and he saw his expression fall at the sight of him. He must have looked a mess. Michael, on the other hand, as dirty and tired as he was, never looked better.

"Watch the door," Gavin warned, his voice raspy. "He said that - he's going to come back." Michael nodded and slipped a pocket knife out of his pocket. He got to work on the ropes on Gavin's wrists. 

Gavin held his free wrist in front of his face. There was a swollen, red line circling it where the rope that dug into his skin. Michael cut the other one loose and started to work on the legs.

"Do you have your gun?" Gavin murmured. Michael nodded and opened his coat to show him the gun tucked by his waistband. Gavin nodded. He almost hoped that John would walk in right then and there, so that Michael could shoot him in the face.

Michael stood up and Gavin was free. He attempted to push himself to his feet, but ended up screaming from the pain and falling back into the chair. Michael visibly flinched at the sound.

He heard foosteps again and started to panic, not strong enough to turn to the door.

"Michael, he's coming back, Michael," Gavin burst out desperately. "Get your gun, he'll kill us, _Michael_." Michael didn't go for his gun and Gavin reached out to grab it from the boy's waist, but he was pulled into an embrace, Michael's arms wrapped around Gavin's head.

"You're okay, boi. You're safe, I got you." Gavin buried his head into Michael's shirt, tears blurring his vision.

The footsteps were getting louder.

Gavin pulled back from Michael. "Michael, please-" he gasped out. "He's right there-"

"Need any help?" the voice didn't belong to John, though, but Ray. Gavin let out a deep breath, a small sob coming out in the process. Ray started to make his way towards them.

"Yeah, Ray, thanks. Gavin, he's-" Michael's voice cracked, and he quickly coughed to cover it. "He's pretty torn up. I don't think he can walk. I'm kind of afraid to move him."

"We just have to get him out of here, we can manage that," Ray assured him. Michael bit his lip.

"We'd better get him to the hospital quick-"

"No," Ray interrupted. Michael turned to stare at him incredulously.

"Are you crazy? Caleb isn't exactly a miracle worker, he needs professional attention," Michael argued. 

"So, what exactly are you going to tell the hospital, then? That he was taken hostage because he's a member of one of the most powerful gangs in Los Santos? I don't think so." Michael went to speak again, but Ray wasn't finished.

"We're not taking him to Caleb, anyway. We're taking him to Rooster Teeth, Geoff called them. They apparently have some brilliant medic over there." Michael didn't object after that. The crew had been under Meg and Brandon's care plenty of times. They were almost as high standard as a hospital, and asked a lot less questions.

Ray grabbed Gavin's left arm, and Michael Gavin's right. They began to drag him to his feet. Gavin let out an earsplitting scream and Michael winced.

"Come on, Gavin," Ray mumbled. "You have to help us help you." Gavin managed to stand with their support, even though everything in him was telling him that he couldn't. His legs were shaking under him, threatening to buckle out from under him.

He gritted his teeth. He hadn't been through two days straight of torture just to give up at the last hurdle.

Pain shot through him as he took a step forward, and then another. 

"Did you-" Gavin let out a groan at the strain of stepping forward. "Kill them all?"

"Pretty sure," came Ray's response. "I think a few might have escaped, though."

Gavin wanted to mention Edgar, see if they had gotten him, but couldn't manage to get the words out between gasps. The door came into view, and Gavin stared at it, urging himself forward.

"We're almost there, come on, Gavin, you're doing great," Michael encouraged. Gavin gave him a smile through the agony, forcing himself to continue forward.

And then he passed out. 

***

Michael traced circles on Gavin's palm, eyes glued to his sleeping face with damp eyes. His gaze trailed to the bruises that littered the boy's face and neck. The rest of his body was hidden underneath the duvet, but the sight of Gavin's injuries when he found him was something he would never forget. 

The door opened, and both Geoff and Jack walked in. They had been coming and going since they had arrived at Rooster Teeth, unlike Michael, who hadn't left Gavin's side the entire time. He hadn't seen Ray since the journey over.

"Is he doing okay? What did Meg say about him?" Jack asked. Michael shrugged a shoulder, his eyes flickering to the older man briefly before turning back to Gavin. 

"He still hasn't woken up," he said. "She says to give him time, but I... it's been four days." Geoff made his way over to Michael and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"How are his injuries?" he asked. 

"He's recovering." It wasn't Michael who answered this time, but Meg, who had just entered. "He's gone through a lot. He's not going to be better overnight, like some people seem to think." She gave Michael a meaningful stare at this, but he just rolled his eyes.

"It's looking pretty positive, though. We've stitched up most of the wounds, we've given him blood and we've done as much as we can for the burns. I'd say he'll be awake soon enough, give him another week, and once he wakes up there's nothing stopping him from full recovery," she added.

"Oh, thank God," Geoff mumbled. Meg gave him a small smile and her eyes flitted to Gavin. Michael noted how the corners of her lips downturned, and remembered how interested she seemed in Gavin when they first met a few years ago. He almost laughed at the memory.

Meg left the room, then, and for a moment they all simply waited in silence, staring at Gavin. Michael was sure that the men wanted to say something, but as it was, he was perfectly content with just staying quiet.

Geoff finally spoke up. 

"Michael, you've been here since we arrived. You should head out, get something to eat, maybe get some rest-"

"I'm fine, Geoff," Michael interrupted, just as the door opened yet again.

Lindsay closed the door behind her and looked over at Gavin. 

"Oh, God" she murmured, a frown settling on her face. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Meg says he'll eventually be fine, if he keeps recovering at this rate," Jack answered. Lindsay nodded, but her frown didn't let up. 

She turned her gaze from Gavin and walked over to Geoff, wordlessly giving him an envelope. Michael didn't need to ask what was in it. Lindsay had undoubtedly collected the money from the dealers, and was handing over the profits to Geoff.

"How long has Gavin been in here?" Lindsay asked. Michael's eyes didn't move from Gavin when he answered.

"Four days."

Lindsay turned to look at Michael, particularly the dark circles under his eyes, and her frown deepened. "How long have you been in here?"

There was a pause. "Four days."

"Michael," Lindsay said softly. "You can't just wait in here until he wakes up."

"That's exactly what I was saying," Geoff agreed, gesturing to Lindsay. "Why don't you and Lindsay go get something to eat? If Gavin even looks like he might wake up, I'll call you immediately."

"I'll pay," Lindsay suggested.

Michael scowled, a sigh escaping his lips. He didn't want to be anywhere but by Gavin's side, but he knew that Geoff and Lindsay weren't going to let up. He supposed that if he was stuck with anyone, he was glad it was Lindsay. He hadn't spoken to her in a while, and if he wasn't preoccupied with Gavin, he might have felt guilty about it.

"Alright," he grumbled, making it very clear that he wasn't happy about leaving. "Let's go get some fucking food."

"That's the Michael I know and love," she teased, ruffling his hair. She smiled at him, but he didn't reciprocate it, and simply followed her out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, folks. Also, I posted a short story thing of how Geoff and Jack met Michael and Gavin, basically... so you should check that out. It's called Straying From The Thunder.

Burger Blitz was the cheapest restaurant within a ten minute walk from Rooster teeth, so naturally it was where Lindsay and Michael ended up eating. Michael had hardly touched his double cheese burger, his mind too scattered to eat. Lindsay's eyes glanced down at it every so often, but otherwise she didn't comment on it.

She was half way through her own burger before either of them spoke.

"You know, I haven't hung out with you in three weeks," she commented. "What's been happening?"

Michael rolled his eyes. "Oh, you know, my boyfriend's just been taken by a crazy lunatic and tortured for three days straight. But other than that, nothing really."

"Bad question?" she offered, before washing down her last bite with a sip of her cola. "Well, who's this lunatic that took Gavin, then?"

Michael's eyes darted up from where he had been staring at the table, and he raised his eyebrows. "Geoff didn't mention it?"

She shrugged. "I mean, I haven't really been talking to any of you outside of business, to be honest. I guess you've been busy."

"Yeah," Michael agreed, swirling his straw around in his drink. He sighed. "Just some stupid gang called the Resurrection, trying to get into Geoff's territory. We've been dicking around with them for a while now."

They fell back into silence, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. Everything about sitting there with Lindsay just felt normal, like it always had. He hadn't realized how much he had missed hanging out with her until then. 

He had known Lindsay as long as he could remember. Back when it had just been him and Gavin, Lindsay had helped out from time to time. As friendly and cheerful as she was, she could be scary when she needed to be. Michael had been the one that had gotten her hired by the Fake AH Crew in the first place.

"Have you seen Ray?" Michael asked suddenly. Lindsay nodded, which was not the answer he had been expecting. He had figured that Ray had fucked off once he decided he had been enough help, waiting for Geoff to call for another attack on the Resurrection.

She swallowed her bite before elaborating. "Yeah, he's been hanging around Rooster Teeth since you all arrived. He usually just sits outside of Gavin's room, but I've seen him in the breakroom, sometimes, too. I think he's staying in a nearby motel."

Michael wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that Ray had been hanging around Rooster Teeth, or even why he would. He frowned and took a bite of his cheeseburger.

His phone rang and he quickly swallowed his bite.

"Geoff," he breathed. "Is he-"

"Gavin, I think he might be waking-" Geoff's sentence was cut off by a horrifying scream on the other end of the line.

Michael ran out of the building.

***

Michael ran as fast as he could on his way to Gavin's room. He thought back to the phone call, the sound of Gavin's scream on the other side of the phone, and regretted hanging up so quickly. If he had just waited a moment to see if Gavin was alright...

He almost bumped into Meg as she was leaving Gavin's room.

"Oh, sorry, Michael," she said, giving him a smile. "I was just checking on Gavin. He woke up a few minutes ago, so I figured I should..." she trailed off, clearly noticing how Michael was hopping from foot to foot, eyes darting to the door. "Well, you get the gist. I'll let you head in."

She stepped out of the way and gestured for him to enter. He smiled at her gratefully. 

The duvet was down along Gavin's waist. His shirt was off, revealing the scars he had obtained from his time with the Resurrection. Michael's eyes trailed over the burn marks that ran along the right side of his torso, before looking to the others in the room.

Jack had left, but Geoff still stood at the right of Gavin's bed. In the seat where Michael had been positioned earlier, on the left side of the bed, was Ray Narvaez Junior. He had been playing on his Nintendo DS, but closed it when Michael walked in.

Gavin's breaths were slow and deep, and Michael noticed him wince slightly and his grip on Ray's forearm tighten. He walked over to stand on the side of the Brit's bed.

"You finally decided to grace us with your presence?" he asked, smiling slightly, but his eyes were watering. Gavin's eyes met his and lit up, a smile spreading across his face.

"Hey, Michael," Gavin said, voice still mildly hoarse. "I missed you."

Michael let out a slow breath to stop himself from crying before giving Gavin a smile. "I fucking missed you too. Don't _ever_ do that again."

Gavin grinned, then grimaced. "I'm totally fine with not doing that again," he agreed. His hand dropped from Ray's arm to reach out for Michael's hand, and Michael squeezed it back.

"I saw Edgar," Gavin admitted quietly. Geoff, Ray and Michael all turned to stare at him in stunned silence.

"He was there when you broke in to save me. He had blond hair - well, kind of brown, I guess. He wasn't even wearing his mask at the time, but he had the thing on his belt." He frowned slightly and cocked his head. "Did you see anyone in a suit? I know you said some people fled, but..>"

"Jack and I were outside, we didn't see anyone not wearing a black uniform or armour," Geoff said. He took his phone out of his pocket as he spoke, and when he finished his sentence he began to type into it.

"Same with Michael and I," Ray agreed. Gavin's expression fell and he went silent. Michael lightly squeezed his hand.

Michael's eyes glanced to Ray, and he furrowed his eyebrows slightly. He looked over at Geoff. 

"Hey, Geoff, can I talk to you?" He made a motion for the door and Geoff nodded. Gavin frowned as he made his way to leave,

"I'll be back in a minute, boi," Michael promised as he left.

Geoff closed the door behind them and turned to Michael. "What's up?"

"Why is Ray hanging out in there all of a sudden?" Michael asked, trying to hide his annoyance with him. He could put up with Ray, but he wasn't happy with how close Gavin was getting to the guy, considering he hardly knew him.

His tone didn't go unnoticed. The corners of Geoff's mouth curved upwards.

"You jealous of Ray?" he asked, smirking. Michael glared at him.

"I'm just fucking curious," he snapped back, before toning down his voice. "He hasn't been in there before now, so it seemed weird to me." 

Geoff shrugged, but he didn't seem entirely convinced.

"He's been here pretty much the whole time, dude. He spent most of the time outside of Gavin's room, but he was wandering around a bit, too." Michael nodded. That much, Lindsay had already told him. 

Geoff's voice quietened as he continued. "When Gavin woke up, the kid was screaming at the top of his lungs. He didn't seem to realize where he was straight away. I swear to God, I don't know what was going on in the boy's head, but it wasn't pretty. It took him a minute just to calm down, and then he asked for you. When I told him you were on the way, he asked for Ray instead."

Michael bit his lip and looked down at the floor, shuffling his feet. God, he felt so guilty for leaving Gavin. He had known he shouldn't have left his side. Though, he was curious why Gavin had asked for Ray over someone such as Jack or Lindsay.

Michael gave Geoff a nod and walked back into the room. Ray's eyes flickered up from where he had returned to playing his DS.

Geoff poked his head around the door and called for Ray. Michael gave him a gracious smile. He knew that Geoff was probably just trying to give Gavin and him some time alone.

The door closed behind them, and Michael took his seat next to Gavin. Gavin turned towards him, wincing at the movement, but otherwise smiling.

"Hey, Michael, you wouldn't happen to have an xbox with you? or just some playing cards, kind of old fashioned, I guess, but there isn't even a TV in here and it's gonna' get kind of boring-"

"Gavin," Michael interrupted quietly. Gavin closed his mouth and looked at Michael expectantly.

"Was Edgar the one that did this to you?" he asked quietly. Gavin blinked, taken aback by the question. He frowned slightly and his eyes seemed distant.

"I mean... indirectly, right? He obviously ordered the person who did," he mumbled. Michael nodded, but understood what Gavin meant. It wasn't Edgar who had tortured him. It also meant that Gavin's torturer could already be dead, one of the men they shot at the base.

"Was the guy who did- I mean, we said we only say people in uniforms, was he..." Michael trailed off when Gavin squeezed his hand to show he understood.

"He wasn't wearing a uniform, so I guess he escaped," he said simply. Michael saw a flash of emotion in Gavin's eyes, but it was gone to quick for him to see what it was.

"Good," Michael said simply. Gavin raised his eyebrows and turned to him.

"Good?" he repeated. Michael shrugged.

"Hey, I want the bastard dead just as much as you do, but there's no way I'm simply going to shoot him though the head. I'm not letting him off that easy." Gavin smiled, though it was clearly forced. He obviously had a lot on his mind.

Michael frowned at his expression. "Are you okay?"

Gavin furrowed his eyebrows, befoe plastering the smile back on his face. "Well, I mean, it still hurts, sure. But I'm doing okay, Meg said I'm going to be-"

"No," Michael interrupted. "I know all that. I mean, are _you_ okay? As in, not physically, but..." Gavin's smile faltered and he looked down. He shrugged a shoulder.

"I don't know," he admitted. His expression hardened. "But I will be."

Michael nodded.

The door opened and Jack walked in. Gavin grinned, but after their conversation Michael could see that it didn't reach his eyes. 

"Hey, Jack, you wouldn't happen to have food, would you? I'm bloody starving."

"You sure you won't just throw it up?" Michael asked. Gavin waved an arm at him.

"Oh, sod off. If I throw up, I throw up. I need my food."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, then you're lucky Geoff's gone to get us pizza from that place in Downtown Achievement City."

Gavin cheered.

***

Michael slowly blinked his eyes open. They landed on the alarm clock on his bedside locker that read 4:43 and a small frown spread across his lips. He lay his head back down and closed his eyes, wondering what had woken him up.

Michael sat up at the sound of glass crashing. He turned to wake up Gavin, but the bed was empty. _Oh, God. Oh no._ His heart leaped in his chest and he went for his gun in the locker. He climbed out of the bed and slowly made his way towards the door.

He crept the door open, scanned the room, and stepped out into the main room. A figure was sitting at the dining table, the remains of a whiskey glass broken on the floor beside them. Michael sighed and tucked his gun into the waistband of his trousers.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, heading to get the dustpan and brush. Gavin nodded absently. Michael returned and knelt down to sweep up the glass. 

"Nightmare again," Gavin mumbled. It wasn't that uncommon since Gavin's stay with the Resurrection. The first night he had been let out of Meg and Brandon's care, he had woken up screaming.

Michael could smell the alcohol off him as he stood up. 

"Get me another glass while you're up?" Gavin asked, his words slightly slurred. Michael sighed and dumped the glass into the bin, before walking back over to the table. He took a seat beside Gavin.

"Where's my glass?" said Gavin. Michael rolled his eyes. 

"I think you've had enough for tonight," he replied. Gavin pouted at him. 

Michael's eyes glanced to Gavin's hand, and noticed the blood dripping from his palm. He frowned.

"Did you cut your hand on the glass? Jesus, Gavin, come on, I'll bandage it for you." Michael stood up and tugged Gavin to his feet, who just whined.

"I'm _fine_ , Michael," he urged, but Michael ignored him. He pulled him to the kitchen sink and washed the cut under the water. Gavin winced. 

"Why were you drinking at four in the morning, anyway?" Michael said, reaching up to grab the bandages. Gavin dabbed a kitchen towel at his wound and shrugged a shoulder.

"I told you, I had a nightmare," he replied. Michael furrowed his eyebrows and started to wrap the bandage around Gavin's hand. 

"Worse than usual?" he asked, and Gavin shrugged again. 

"I think it's just because we're going back tomorrow."

Michael paused. The whole of the Fake AH Crew, Ray included, had been staying in the motel by Rooster Teeth headquarters for about six weeks at that point. The official reasons were because Rooster Teeth wanted to help with the Resurrection and the house was probably bugged. The unofficial reason was because they were all a bit shaken up that someone had broken in and taken Gavin without any of the others noticing. Michael had already gone back to get most of his and Gav's stuff, but the next day they were planning on completely clearing out. 

"You didn't tell me you were anxious about that," Michael accused, continuing to wrap the bandage around Gavin's palm. He took the scissors from the cupboard and cut the bandage.

"It's stupid, anyway. It's no big deal to go back, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning," Gavin replied simply.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, I want to," Gavin disagreed. "I just- I'm nervous. And it's stupid, I know, because even if they are there, which they won't be, we'll be able to kill them no problems, but-"

"It's not stupid," Michael argued. "You can't help what you're scared of."

Gavin paused for a second. "I'm not even scared of going back," he finally murmured. "I'm just scared because he's still out there, I guess." 

Michael didn't know what to reply to that. He didn't know if he meant Edgar or John, the man that he had been informed had been responsible for making Gavin 'talk'. 

"Come back to bed, Gavin," he finally said. Gavin sighed and looked down at his feet.

"I don't want to. When I sleep, I... have nightmares."

"Well, don't sleep, then," Michael replied simply. "We can just lie down." 

Gavin pursed his lips and nodded. Michael gave him a small smile and lead him down to the room.

"Night, Gav."


	7. Chapter 7

Geoff placed the cardboard box on the dining table and sighed, looking around at their old place. It felt almost surreal to be leaving it. They had moved in before Gavin and Michael had even joined Fake AH, and seeing it so bare and empty just seemed alien. 

"I think that's the last of it," Michael commented, placing a similar box down next to Geoff. Geoff noticed how Michael's eyes glanced over to Gavin, concern etched into his expression. Gavin had seemed nervous that morning, but after a talk with Michael calmed down. Michael still looked anxious, though. 

"Yeah," Geoff agreed with a nod. He looked over to Gavin, who was playing a game on his phone. "Hey, Gav, can you go check for anything we might have missed? Look around the rooms, or whatever?" 

Gavin pocketed his phone and looked at Geoff, eyebrows furrowed. He looked curious, and possibly knew that Geoff just wanted him to leave the room, but simply called a, "Sure, Geoff," and left.

The three left in the kitchen watched him go. After he was gone for a minute, Jack spoke up.

"How's Gavin?"

Michael pursed his lips, before shrugging. "He's been having nightmares. Not all the time, but pretty often." He shuffled uncomfortably. "To be honest, I wouldn't be that worried about Edgar, but whatever they did to Gavin kind of fucked him up." 

Geoff sighed. "Is it just the nightmares? What about his injuries?"

"They're coming along fine," Michael commented, the topic seemingly boring him. "Seriously, he's pretty good. I get why the check-ups are necessary or whatever, but as far as physically goes... I mean, it's not going to stop him from going out on the job with us." 

He bit his lip. "I caught him drinking last night."

Jack snorted. "That's hardly a break through. Gavin loves his bevs."

"Sure," Michael agreed. "But it was like four in the morning, and it sounded like he was doing it to try and calm himself down. Drink away his problems, or whatever."

"We've all done that at some point," Geoff replied. He wasn't that worried about Gavin drinking a bit, especially if he was nervous about coming back to the house.

"I know. But, I only woke up last night because he dropped a glass. It kind of got me wondering if he did it on a regular basis, I just never noticed-"

"Geoff?" Gavin's voice was a higher pitch than usual.

"Has he said anything-"

" _Geoff_ ," Gavin called again, his voice sounding more strained, an anxious tone to his voice. 

"What is it, Gavin?"

"What the _fuck_ is this?"

Geoff frowned slightly, exchanging glances with the other two men. They made their way down the hall, stopping at Geoff's room. Gavin was kneeling by Geoff's bedside table, a piece of paper in his hand. No, not paper - a photograph. 

"Geoff, Jack... who's this?"

Geoff furrowed his eyebrows, squinting slightly to examine the photograph that Gavin had turned to face them. There were two people in the photo. A younger Jack was sitting closest to the camera, a disgruntled expression on his face and hiding behind his hand to shy away from the camera.

His eyes turned to the man in the back, brown hair and blue eyes crinkled. He was holding a beer bottle in his hand and laughing at Jack. Geoff smiled lightly at the memory. He had been the one behind the camera.

"That's Jack and Ryan. Ryan Haywood, I think we've mentioned him before. He used to be part of Fake AH, before he died." Geoff's smile fell lightly, and he noticed Jack's expression fall in his peripheral vision.

"So, you guys were mates?" Gavin asked. His voice was shaky, his face pale. Geoff furrowed his eyebrows at him, worried.

"I guess, why? What's wrong?"

"I don't mean to freak you guys out, but he's not dead. Oh, and he kind of hates your guts," Gavin replied, voice still scared. Geoff frowned.

"Gav, what are you say-"

"That's not Ryan, Geoff," Gavin interrupted. "That's Edgar."

***

_"That's not Ryan, Geoff. That's Edgar."_

Gavin's words rang in Geoff's ears, and he took another swig of his beer bottle. He was sitting on the roof of Rooster Teeth, legs swinging over the edge of the building. Earlier that day, Geoff had said to Michael that they all drank away their problems at some point. This was one of those days.

Or, at least, Geoff was _trying_ to drink away his problems. He was on his second bottle, and the fuzzy feeling inside of him wasn't doing much to block out the memories. 

He had about a million questions for Ryan, if what Gavin had said was true. Though, he didn't see how it couldn't be. Gavin definitely thought it had been true, judging by his reaction.

He thought back to the night of Ryan's supposed death, wondering how the hell he had escaped that. Why the fuck was Ryan suddenly getting his revenge on them, anyway, and for what? They had been friends with Ryan before his death. 

_Unless he knows._ Geoff shook his head. No way Ryan could have known that. Not even Jack knew that. He covered his tracks.

And Gavin, why had he been left alive after he had been captured? He had figured that had been a case of Edgar wanting to get away quickly, but he knew Ryan, and Ryan knew how to make things go his way. Ryan also knew them, so he probably knew what their strategy had been. 

Apart from the fact that Geoff's former friend had seemingly risen from the dead to ruin his life, a lot of Ryan being Edgar made sense. He had Ryan's sense of cunning and stealth, he knew where their base of operations was. Ryan also knew where Rooster Teeth was, which he neglected to tell Gavin. The boy was already terrified as it was.

Knowing who Edgar was, though, was certainly going to help them track him down. He had already told Matt, Jeremy, Kdin and Lindsay. It also meant they knew his weaknesses. 

Though why Ryan let Gavin see his face was yet _another_ unanswered question. He took another gulp of the alcohol, the drink burning his throat on the way down. 

The door onto the roof opened, and Geoff didn't bother to turn to meet his new companion. The footsteps started towards him. 

"You know, Lindsay told me that they'll probably find Edgar within the week, knowing who he is now and all." The voice wasn't who he had been expecting. Geoff didn't react as 

Ray sat down beside him. 

Within the week. That sounded a lot like Ryan wanted to be found. From the expression on Ray's face, it seemed that he had come to this conclusion, too.

"Want a drink?" Geoff asked, offering him a sip of his beer. Ray shook his head.

"I don't drink, remember?"

Geoff shrugged. 

"So," Ray said. "How long was this Ryan guy a part of Fake AH?"

Geoff sighed. "About two years? Maybe a bit less."

"And how did he die?"

Geoff laughed bitterly into his bottle. "He didn't."

"Why'd you think he did?"

"Why are you so curious?" Geoff retorted. 

Ray raised an eyebrow. "You're paying me to help kill the guy, I'd like to know as much as possible."

"If I paid you extra, would you shut the fuck up?" 

Ray scoffed, but otherwise didn't comment.

Geoff rolled his eyes. "We were breaking into Rooster Teeth, actually. They had files on Ryan and Jack, plus some information on something we wanted... gosh, what was it? Safe numbers, or something?" He shook his head lightly.

"We were on our way out when the alarm tripped. I had been outside, Jack and Ryan were inside. Apparently, Ryan went back to get something else, something we hadn't broken in for. Jack started yelling at him to come back. A minute later, Jack runs out with the files. We wait for about three minutes for Ryan, and the guy bursts out of the doors, holding a USB in his hand. He was peppered with shots before he even got half way to the car. So, I hit the gas before we could get shot too."

Ray fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

"Do you know who it was?" he said slowly. "Who shot him?"

"Burnie, I think," Geoff replied. "I never asked him, but from my memory, the guy looked something like that."

"What was Ryan trying to get?"

"Fuck if I know," Geoff replied bitterly. "Add that to my fucking massive list of questions."

They fell silent, but Ray didn't move to leave, as Geoff had hoped he would. He just sat beside Geoff in the cold night air, looking down at the river below them.

"How did you get into all this, then?" Geoff asked. Ray groaned, a small laugh escaping with it.

"Dude, you're not actually going to ask for my tragic backstory, are you?" he joked. Geoff smirked slightly and shrugged. 

"What, you got mine, right?"

"Nah," Ray disagreed. "I got some of Edgar's, which just so happens to overlap with yours. There's a big difference."

Geoff raised an eyebrow. "So, you're not going to tell me your tragic backstory?" 

Ray laughed. He stood up and shook his head, placing a hand on Geoff's shoulder. "Night, Ramsey."

***

Gavin sat on the sofa in Geoff's motel room, leg shaking. He was on his third red bull, and couldn't stay still for very long. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, either.

Geoff was in the kitchen area, leaning over a sheet of paper with furrowed eyebrows. Jack stood beside him, pen in hand, the same look of concentration on his face. They were trying to think of Edgar's next move. Apparently, their hackers weren't hacking fast enough for their liking. 

Not that Gavin could blame them, either. It had only been two days, but he was just as on edge as everyone else, if not more. It wasn't just unrealistic for them to find Edgar within two days, it was bloody impossible. 

Ray strolled in, and looked over to Geoff and Jack. 

"Any progress?"

"Shh," they hissed simultaneously. Ray rolled his eyes and plonked down next to Gavin. 

"They're wasting their time," Ray mumbled, and Gavin nodded in agreement. He picked a controller off of the coffee table and motioned for Ray to do the same.

"How about a game of Halo?" he suggested. Ray grinned.

"Prepare to get your ass kicked."

The door opened again as Michael walked in. His eyes fell on Ray and Gavin as the game loaded up, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. Michael still didn't seem to fond of Ray. 

"Suck fucking dicks, dude! Waste of time, my butt," Geoff yelled from the kitchen. They all turned to look at Jack and Geoff, and Geoff rolled his eyes. 

"So, where's Edgar?" Gavin asked.

"Don't have a clue," came Geoff's reply. "But I know where he'll hit next. He's not hiding from us anymore, don't ask me why, but he's probably not just going to wait for us to attack him now we can track him."

"So, where's he hitting?" Michael asked impatiently. Geoff gave him a grim smile, though he had a wild look in his eye.

"Rooster Teeth. Some day soon, the bastard is going to show up at our front door and we better be fucking ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. Sorry about that.  
> This story is actually almost over. The next chapter could potentially be the final one... we'll see, I guess. :3


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it guys. The final chapter. Hope you like it! :')

Gavin sat cross legged on the roof of Rooster Teeth, his gun sitting by his knee. He watched as Chris threw his gun in the air and caught it again, rolling his eyes. Gavin had accidentally shot himself from the foot before by doing that, and was just waiting for Chris to do the same.

It was about one in the morning, and the two were on duty for watching the roof. He had another two hours to go before he could go to sleep, and just like the last two nights, no one had shown up to shoot them in the head. He was starting to doubt Jack and Geoff's logic of the Resurrection attacking Rooster Teeth.

Chris stopped flipping his gun and looked over the side of the roof that overlooked the street. Gavin's phone rang, and Chris turned to look at him. Gavin looked at the caller ID and answered the call.

"Hey, Michael, my boi. What's up?"

"They're here. The Resurrection are here." Gavin frowned and stood up. His eyes glanced to the security camera by the door to the roof, of which Michael was on the other side. 

"Where are they?" He reached down and picked up his gun from the roof. Chris looked over at him, and Gavin just nodded grimly. Chris took out his gun.

"Most of them are just entering, but be careful. There's at least one sneaky fucker that managed to take down Kerry without being spotted by the security cameras."

"Kerry's down? What about Gus?" Kerry and Gus had been patrolling the corridors. 

"I don't know, I didn't see him on the camera-" Michael's sentence was interrupted by the sound of the alarm blaring. Gavin rolled his eyes. _A bit late for that._

"Watch out, you've got company," Michael warned. Gavin dropped his phone in favour of focusing on his aim, and both him and Chris turned to the door. The door opened and three men burst in. They were shot down in seconds.

Gavin's heart was starting to speed up, nerves and excitement fuelling his adrenaline. He went to pick up the phone again, but instead spun around, gun raised when Michael yelled, "Gavin, behind you!"

A woman dressed in black was holding Chris, her gun pressed against his temple. Gavin narrowed his eyes. She must have somehow climbed up to the roof. He pointed his own gun at the woman's head.

"Put the gun down," she warned, gesturing to Chris. Gavin scowled and cocked his gun.

"Your first."

The door opened on the other side of the roof again and a man stepped in, dressed in a dark uniform with the bloody cow skull symbol of the Resurrection on the right breast. He pointed his gun at Gavin as he walked closer to the group.

"Well, fancy this. Gavin Free, it's been a while. I told you I'd see you again. I also told you I'd kill you, so I guess I get to keep two promises today."

All the colour drained out of Gavin's face when he heard the man's voice. His expression darkened. "John."

"Put the gun down, Free," the man said. Gavin's heart was leaping in his chest. This was the guy who had tortured him for days, the guy who had been the source of his nightmares for weeks. There was no way he was dropping his gun. He was going to shoot that little-

Chris let out a small noise of protest when the woman's grip on him tightened, and Gavin's eyes turned to him. He crouched down and placed his gun on the roof.

"Kick it off the roof," John ordered. Gavin didn't go to move. If he kicked his weapon off the roof, then he would be completely helpless if a fight broke out, unless he could somehow get to Chris's weapon. He was pretty sure he wouldn't have enough time for that.

John sighed at Gavin's lack of movement and gave the woman a small nod. Gavin's head darted to Chris as the woman repositioned her gun. She shot the trigger at his foot and Chris howled in pain.

Gavin growled and kicked the gun off the roof with the side of his foot. He heard the splash as it hit the river. 

John cocked his gun, pointing it at Gavin's heart. Gavin started to back away slowly to the edge of the roof as John walked forward. All he could think to do was stall him until one of the others arrived. Michael's silence on the other end of the phone made him assume he was on his way up.

"Where's Edgar, John?" Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow. He hoped the fear in his voice wasn't obvious.

John let out a small laugh and shrugged a shoulder. "Probably killing your buddies, if I were to take a guess." Gavin's eyes flickered to the phone. That was another possibility for why Michael had gone silent. He hoped that the fact he hadn't heard a gun shot meant the boy was okay.

"Why are you working for him?" Gavin said. God, the crew better hurry up. He didn't really know how to keep the guy from shooting him and Chris any longer. 

"Why? Well, for starters, the pay if fucking fantastic-" John paused, narrowing his eyes at Gavin. He cocked his head to the side. 

"Are you trying to _stall_ me? Waiting for one of your friends to show up and rescue you?" he asked, before laughing. He took another step forward and Gavin stepped back. His feet stumbled at the edge of the roof, and his breathing quickened. 

He glanced down to the river below, and thought about jumping in. He just hoped the building wasn't too high. He had heard that at a certain height, you might as well be jumping onto concrete.

And of course, jumping in also meant that Chris was probably going to get shot straight away. Or John could shoot him as he fell. Or follow him. Jumping in wasn't looking like a great option.

He noticed a figure coming up the stairs through the open door and his heart leapt. God, he hoped that was one of the Fake AH, or Rooster Teeth.

"Well, too little too late, and all that crap," John said, sighing lightly. Gavin turned his eyes back to John as he shot the gun.

The bullet lodged itself in his shoulder, and Gavin stumbled backwards. He winced at the sound of another gun shot, and his feet scrambled for friction on the edge of the building. Two more gunshots, and he was falling. 

A figure came to a halt at the edge of the building, green eyes wide and curly hair half hidden under a building. The man opened his mouth, a desperate yell, but the wind swept away his words.

And then Gavin hit the water, and everything went black.

***

Michael made his way up the stairs, trying to stay as quiet as possible while being relatively fast, gun raised. He could hear a male on the roof, but didn't recognise the voice.

"- for one of your friends to show up and rescue you?" The man let out a deep, throaty laugh.

Michael turned the corner and took in the scene on the roof. Chris was being held with a gun to his head, a small pool of blood expanding by his foot. His expression was tired and confused, and Michael was sure he was about to pass out from the wound.

Gavin wasn't in any better of a position. He was teetering at the edge of the building, the man speaking pointing a gun at his chest. Gavin's eyes glanced over to Michael's for a second. Michael held up his gun and prepared to shoot.

"Well, too little, too late, and all that crap." Michael flinched at the sound of a gunshot, and then a sharp ringing filled his ears. He shot the woman holding Chris right between the eyes, and both her and Chris fell to the floor. The man who had shot Gavin began to turn, but Michael immediately shot him in the leg and then the hip. He crumpled to the ground.

Michael didn't hesitate, the ringing still the only sound he could make out. He ran to the edge of the building and looked below as Gavin fell further out of his reach. His eyes widened in fear and he yelled out in despair.

_"Gavin!"_

A hand landed on his shoulder and gently tugged him back from the edge, but Michael pulled away. He watched as Gavin hit the water and was enveloped under the waves. Michael screamed.

The person behind them grabbed his shoulder again and pulled him around into them, wrapping their arms around his body. Michael recognised Ray's scent, but didn't pull away. He was too numb, too shocked to register anything other than the fact that Gavin was gone. 

_Gavin._

***

Ray looked up from the dining table as Jack sat down beside him. Jack looked worried, eyebrows furrowed and a light frown on his face. He wrung his hands uncomfortably. 

"Where's Geoff?" Ray asked. He hadn't seen him since the night before, when they had all left for Rooster Teeth after getting the call from Michael.

"He's gone after Ryan. He said he spotted him last night, and wanted to finish the job." Ray noticed the displeasure in Jack's tone, and wondered if it was concern for Geoff or Ryan. They had been friends once, after all.

They fell into silence, and Ray couldn't help but think that it Gavin had been there, he would have asked some stupid question to lighten the mood. He sighed at the thought. After Michael left, Ray had gone out with some Rooster Teeth members to search for Gavin's body, but they didn't find it. He didn't expect them to, considering it was dark, but he was kind of glad they didn't. He didn't want Michael to have to see that.

Jack didn't seem too upset, but Ray could tell it was just a façade. He had been there when Matt told Jack what had happened, and his face had crumpled. He could see how worn out Jack looked, how his smile fell when he thought no one was looking, and knew how tiring it was for him to be the support for everyone else.

Gavin was the only casualty so far, though both Kerry and Chris were still in danger of joining him. There were several others in the medical ward, but most of them were probably going to make it. Probably.

Ray turned back to Jack. "How did Ryan join Fake AH in the first place?"

Jack sighed. "Ryan was a mercenary. He used to help us on a few jobs and we grew fairly close, but a year after we met he settled down with someone and stopped. Geoff kept insisting on him to join the crew, but he kept saying he was out of the business. Though really, you don't just leave the business, and Ryan clearly made a lot of enemies as a merc... it ended up coming back to haunt him. He called us up in the middle of the night, about a year after he had quit, and said he wanted to join. I didn't know why at first, but he told me later that his fiancé had been murdered by some man named Westly. Ryan killed him in the end, but it really fucked him up." Jack narrowed his eyes and looked at the table, deep in thought. Ray didn't know how to respond to that.

He was saved having to answer by a knock on the door. Jack went to answer it, but it was barged open before he even stood up. Lindsay strode in and shut the door behind her.

"Where's Michael?" she asked. Ray noted the red puffiness around her eyes, revealing that she had been crying. He knew that Lindsay had known Gavin, but hadn't realized they had been close.

"He's still asleep," Jack replied. "I think he was just worn out after... what happened." Lindsay bit her lip and took a seat at the table beside him. 

"How's he holding up?" she asked. Ray shrugged a shoulder, a light frown on his face. He hadn't spoken to Michael since last night, but after the guy had stopped sobbing, he had been lifeless, like a zombie. 

"Pretty bad," Jack answered with a sigh. "I don't know if there's anything we can do for now, though. We should just give him some time." Lindsay nodded, but stood up and made her way down to the bedroom anyway. They were in Geoff's apartment at the moment, and so Michael had crashed in Geoff's room.

"God, I hope Geoff get's that dick," Ray mumbled, shaking his head lightly. Jack nodded in agreement.

"I'll say one thing about the guy, though," Ray added. "The Resurrection? You know, because he died, but he didn't, so it's kind of like he resurrected-"

"I get it," Jack intervened, rolling his eyes. Ray chuckled lightly.

"Barbara would be proud."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Barbara? Is she your girlfriend?"

Ray smirked, holding back laughter. "Nah, she's just someone I work with every now and then. She loves puns, though, so I figured she'd like Edgar's sense of humour."

"The Resurrection isn't really a pun," Jack pointed out. Ray scowled at him, though there was no malice behind it.

"Oh, shut up, Patillo," he whined. "Let me have my moment." Jack laughed and Ray grinned, and even though it was slightly forced, it made them fell better, even if just for a little while.

***

Geoff Ramsey walked into the apartment cautiously, gun raised. It didn't take him long to find Haywood. He was sitting on the couch, back to Geoff, mask sitting on the sofa beside him. Geoff sighed.

Ryan turned to look at him and nodded for him to take the armchair next to him. Geoff furrowed his eyebrows, but sat. He kept his gun pointed at Ryan as he slumped into the chair.

"Just leave, and don't come back. I don't want to kill you, Ryan, and you know you don't have a chance against us. I don't know why you tried in the first place."

Ryan laughed bitterly. "Don't sell me short," he replied. "I think I came pretty close. You would be dead by now if I hadn't let Free live, or if I hadn;t shown him my face in the first place. I'd say I had a pretty good chance."

Geoff noted that Ryan didn't seem to be holding any weapons, but didn't lower his own gun.

"I'd been meaning to ask you about that," he admitted. "Why'd you let Gavin live?"

"Several reasons," Haywood admitted. "I figured his injuries would slow you down more than his death, seeing as you'd want to get revenge immediately if I killed him, where as you had to wait for him to recover. I also didn't want the kid to die, anyway. It wasn't him that fucked me over." Ryan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You know, I showed him my face, knowing he'd figure it out. I wanted you to know that I knew what you did."

Geoff sighed. "Was it the USB, then? It had my file on it?" he asked quietly. 

Ryan nodded.

Geoff paused for a moment before speaking again. "I know it won't make any difference, but that's my biggest regret. I'm truly sorry. I didn't realize how much she meant to you, how-"

"Shut up, Geoff," Ryan growled. "I don't want your apologies, because like you said, it won't make any difference. So either shoot me, or get out of my apartment."

"I don't want to shoot you, Ryan," Geoff said. "If you just stay away, I won't have to."  
Ryan looked up at him and glared. "Trust me, I don't ever want to see you again. Now get the fuck out of my house."

Geoff frowned, but stood up and headed for the door. Ryan called out when he had his hand on the door knob.

"Geoff," he said. "Tell Jack I say hi."

Geoff closed the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooh, and it's over. My first chaptered fan fiction complete. Eep.
> 
> I've been planning to do a sequel to this. I don't know when I'll be doing that, but I have holidays from school in about two weeks, so it would be nice to do it then. What do you guys think of a sequel to it, anyway?:) Yay or nay?
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos, I really appreciate it, and I hope you liked it:D


End file.
